Do you log your exercise?

MSmith74

Do you log your exercise when you are trying to lose weight?
Do you use your exercise calories?

toutmonpossible

No and no.

BiancaMarie819

I definitely log my exercise everyday! Not to eat back the calories, but to know that I have a remainder in calories, and it helps to know what works best when I switch it up and notice a weight gain/loss!

glin23

I loosely log it. And no I don't necessarily eat back all of the exercise calories.

RobP1192

I don't log exercise, because i don't like how MFP adds calories to my base budget. If you don't want it affecting your daily calorie requirements, you could always add the exercise and just record 1 calorie burned. But i just don't bother. Some people like recording their exercise though, i guess keeping track of what you do helps. Oh, and i never try to eat back exercise calories on a cut.

sorcha1977

Yes, and yes, but to a point.

I use a heart rate monitor since MFP's numbers are usually pretty high. But even then, I subtract 10% from my HRM, since those can be off too.

I don't eat all of my exercise calories back, but I do eat some. I don't want to eat too few calories because then my weight loss stalls. But I don't want to eat all of them since I might be underestimating my food calories.

So, it's like this:

Food calories: 2000
Exercise (HRM reading minus 10%): 480
Net calories: 1520
What I eat back: 300 - 350, putting me pretty close to 2000 but with enough wiggle room to make up for any errors

Also, I don't really eat them "back" so much as eat them throughout the day. I'm always hungry during the day and not so much late at night, so I eat more during lunch and the afternoon, especially on workout days, to make up for working out later. I pre-log all of my food to make sure I have enough left over for dinner and an evening snack.

sorcha1977

I don't log exercise, because i don't like how MFP adds calories to my base budget. If you don't want it affecting your daily calorie requirements, you could always add the exercise and just record 1 calorie burned. But i just don't bother. Some people like recording their exercise though, i guess keeping track of what you do helps. Oh, and i never try to eat back exercise calories on a cut.

I've done that with TDEE since calories aren't eaten back. I like to keep track of my minutes, though, so I'd just log 1 calorie.

smmorri

I log my exercise everyday! It motivates me to reach my goal of "Weekly Total Calories Burned!!"

knityoupants

I log so-called "intentional" exercise... jogging, a zumba class, etc.

For instance, I went on a day trip with friends out of town and we walked around a historic, hilly city ALL DAY. My feet killed me and I slept well that night, but I didn't log it because that's pretty difficult to gauge. I also bike to work and occasionally take the stairs to my 20th story apartment... that doesn't get logged either. It all falls into trying to be more active in general, for me.

I also don't log strength/weight training, just because it's a hassle and I don't think it affects my food diary....

SRB8710

I log my exercise and I do eat back my calories. However, MFP inflates workout calories so I do adjust it down to be more realistic of what I burned.

knityoupants

Oh and I only eat back exercise calories to if I really need to avoid starvation zone... which rarely happens, haha.

jacksonpt

Depends on what my daily calorie goal is. Or more accurately, how I calculated it.

Currently: No and no.

Phythisisa

Yes, I log exercise. No I don't eat it back, unless I have already gone over.

harphy

Yes and some.
MFP is way to generous with calories, but until I get a decent HRM this is the only way. I use some of them or else I would drop.

cwolfman13

Yes, because you're supposed to when using the NEAT method (MFP method). Just look it up...I'm tired of explaining it...or don't and just be hungry. You also do realize your calorie GOAL already has a weight loss deficit built in right? It's not maintenance or anything...you're not needing to create a deficit with exercise, it's built in. Seriously...doesn't anyone read the directions on how to use a tool anymore.

I always ate back roughly 70% of my exercise calories (per my HRM to account for estimation error) when I did MFP per my NET calorie GOAL and have lost nearly 40 Lbs at roughly 1 Lb per week just as I put in my goal.

Notsowobblynow

bump lol

karenertl

I don't log what I walk at work since I'm a nurse's aide and walk 3-5 miles a shift. Outside of that, yes I log what I do. Unless I'm really hungry, I try not to eat back my exercise calories.

smmorri

I think this has been stated in multiple posts above but to summarize.

1) You exercise to not only allow yourself to eat more calories, but to be fit and healthy. Also exercise and resistance training helps to tone and build muscle (which in turn raises your metabolism, will help your skin keep its elasticity if you are losing a large amount of weight, and to get the body composition you are probably looking for).

2) The misconception is you burn more calories and eat less and you will lose the weight more quickly. While this is true, you are not going to achieve what you want. At a certain point your body is starting to not only burn fat, but also start cannibalizing your muscle mass for energy b/c you haven't eaten enough to sustain it for the amount of exercise you are doing. Food is fuel first and foremost. I personally made this same mistake and while the scale number kept dropping, I was also losing muscle mass and my BF% wasn't dropping like it should have.

3) MFP's formula already gives you the calorie deficit for you to lose weight. When you exercise it gives you more calories to eat (that you need to eat back) because your body needs them... you are still eating at a deficit even when you eat back your exercise calories. The important thing to note is to make sure you don't overestimate your exercise calories. There might be some logic in eating back a portion of your exercise calories just b/c most of the estimates are high to begin with. If you are manually entering calories from exercise based on a HRM or other more accurate method, I would eat back your calories in whole.

In short... Eat back your exercise calories if you are using MFP as designed. The only reason not to do this is if you are using the TDEE method.

This is from a another thread... It explains things perfectly

shannashannabobana

I log it. It's way more fun than logging food. I don't log stuff like 'housework', but that can be a bone of contention around here...

I do eat back some of my exercise calories, if I'm hungry. And last night I went for a post dinner walk just to make the numbers work

scrapjen

I wear a Fitbit and my account is connected to MFP - so while I don't "log" my exercise, I get credit for all my activity (even just the regular walking throughout the day, not necessarily exercise). I do eat back some of these, but not all of them (usually, this last weekend wasn't great).

Ready2Rock206

I don't log exercise, because i don't like how MFP adds calories to my base budget. If you don't want it affecting your daily calorie requirements, you could always add the exercise and just record 1 calorie burned. But i just don't bother. Some people like recording their exercise though, i guess keeping track of what you do helps. Oh, and i never try to eat back exercise calories on a cut.

I've done that with TDEE since calories aren't eaten back. I like to keep track of my minutes, though, so I'd just log 1 calorie.

This is what I do - 1 calorie for 1 minute and I already have my calories upped to reflect my activity level. I also wear a FitBit - so I get credit for being even more active.